Mercy Killing
by outerelf
Summary: Sometimes, their's no way to save others, despite the fact that you're a search and rescue team.


'Mercy killing' is practiced often, especially back in the day when loosing an arm meant that you could no longer work, and you would simply die….Warning: This has christian references as to life after death, and you might want a kleenax.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Red Alert looked around the destroyed city, remarking softly to Inferno, "I don't think that anyone alive is left here."

Inferno nodded, optics sweeping the still smoking rubble. "Yeah, Red. We must of come too late."

Red Alert turned to go, when something stopped him. A soft, barely audible sound reached his sensitive auditory receptors, and he turned, optics riveting on where it had been hear.

Inferno had already turned to go, and he took only five steps before realizing that Red Alert wasn't with him. Frowning, he turned around to see Red Alert listening intently. He kept quiet, hoping that there might be a survivor.

Red Alert pointed, saying softly, "I can hear a slight noise from over there."

Inferno's head turned, and he looked at where Red Alert pointed. The building was no improvement over the others, in fact, it seemed to of received the particular brunt of the Decepticons attack. Both of them threaded their way over.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Inferno stiffened as he saw a broken, ruined wreck of a mech. Protruding from its chest were three beams of steel, creating a triangle. Red Alert bent over the mech, and winced.

The triangle caught the mechs spark directly in the middle. There was no way to remove the beams without killing the mech. In fact, they were the only things keeping the mech alive at this point, despite the pain that shone clearly on its face.

Inferno bent down, touching the mech gently. The mech twitched, optics on-lining. "Decepticons, attacked, after… youngling…"

The mech sighed, and then looked directly into Red Alerts optics. "Kill me. Please, the pain… Anything to end the pain!"

Red Alerts gun rose to point directly at the mechs spark, as Inferno looked on, slightly horrified. He contemplated turning away, but the mechs hand took his one hand and squeezed. Inferno realized that despite the pain, the mech was terrified.

Inferno's hand tightened on the mechs as Red Alerts gun shot once. The hand jerked, tightening for one impossibly short click, then it relaxed as a smile of relief crossed the mech's face. Silently he died.

0o0o0o0o0o

Red Alert looked back at Inferno as they continued combing the city. The fire truck had been silent ever since he had killed the mech, and Red Alert wondered if it had been too much. But they needed to determine if the sparklings and younglings that the mech had talked about were dead or captured.

He shoved against a door, peering inside. He stopped dead, wondering how he was supposed to keep Inferno from seeing this, but it was already too late. Inferno was peering over his shoulder….

The gun Inferno had been holding dropped to the ground, and Red Alert felt Inferno's spark twist in horror. He swallowed, and forced himself to think rationally.

About thirty younglings lay ripped to pieces before him. Some had been bound and strung up for target practice. Others had obviously been forced to act as servants for the Decepticons as they lay with feet imprinted on their soft, small bodies. In the corner, however…

Inferno pushed by Red Alert as he hurried to the youngling, who lay cradling a body. The youngling looked up, holding the tinny sparkling. "They-they made me shoot him."

Red Alert winced, as Inferno stopped dead in his tracks. The youngling babbled on. "They placed a gun in my hand and pointed it at my brother and told me to shoot him. I told them no, but they forced me to pull the trigger-"

The youngling cried harder as he clutched at his dead brother.

Red Alert felt a deep, angry sadness rise up within him, and Inferno bent, gently scooping up the youngling. "Shh, there, there, you'll be alright."

The youngling stifled a sob as the clasped Inferno around the neck. "It's all my fault. I killed him." The youngling sobbed, "All my fault."

Inferno shook his head, "No, it wasn't. It wasn't your fault. The decepticons were the ones who pulled the trigger. Not you."

The youngling said nothing, but buried his face in Inferno's neck. Red Alert stared at the large hole in the younglings back, knowing the youngling would die at any breem now.

Inferno looked at Red Alert with haunted optics, asking softly, "Isn't their anything we can do at all?"

His nozzle covered the hole in the younglings back, as Red Alert shook his head. "Not even Ratchet could save him now Inferno."

Inferno nodded, optics dark.

Three breems passed by slowly, as the two mechs stayed with the youngling in the gruesome torture room. The youngling refused to go outside; he wanted to be nearby his brother. Silence fell, and the youngling asked in a scared voice, "Will it be dark, and lonely?'

"No, you'll go to a wonderful place." Inferno said, clutching the youngling tightly. "A wonderful place full of happy people, where no one will ever die, and the sky is forever bright blue, and the ground is just perfect for anything you want to do."

"Will my brother be there? And my creators? I don't wanna go if I can't be with them."

'They'll be there. You'll run to them, and they'll hold you close, murmuring what a good boy you are, and how brave you were to find you're way to them."

"My brother won't hate me, right? Because I killed him?"

"No, he won't. Because you didn't kill him." Red Alert spoke now, softly, his optics clear. "He'll smile at you, and say, 'thanks for trying to protect me.'."

The youngling nodded, optics dimming slowly as the last few precious drops of energon dripped out of the hole. "Will I ever see those mean and nasty mechs again?"

"No. They'll go somewhere else, where they can no longer ever hurt someone."

'Good. Good." The youngling said, his grip beginning to slacken. Inferno held the youngling closer, as the youngling suddenly sobbed, screaming his grief, "I don't wanna die. I don't wanna die!"

"You're not dieing." Red Alert said softly, drawing the younglings attention. "You're going home."

The youngling smiled at that, and softly he whispered, "Thank you." Then he slipped into the world beyond.

Red Alert had to mercy kill nearly five other mechs, all of which silently thanked him for the relief of death. Inferno eventaully pleaded to go back to the Ark, and Red Alert agreed.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Prowl looked at the two as they silently boarded the Ark. "no survivors. They were after the younglings again. Darn it Prowl, they're deliberately killing the younger mechs off!"

Prowl nodded, his own optics tired. Inferno appeared, his optics shadowed and sickened by what he had seen on the battlefield today. "None. Did you do any mercy shots?"

"Yes. And we stayed with a youngling as they died."

Prowl nodded. "Go, you're both free for the next two orns. Go and recharge, if you don't think you'll get nightmares."

Red Alert shook his head. "I think I will. I know I will."

The Ark silently sped its way through space. The twins had long since learned there were times you didn't push Red Alert.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Inferno entered into the washroom, wondering how Red Alert always managed to seem composed and to forge ahead with his job, no matter what was going on around him. He paused as he heard a distracted muttering. Red Alert was scrubbing at his hands so harshly that the paint was nearly gone. "Why won't it come off? Why won't the energon come off?" He wailed it, fear making his voice tremble.

Inferno snuck away silently, leaving Red Alert to his glitchy imagination, as Red Alert scrubbed at the energon only he could see.

SsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSsSs

Wow. My friends cried reading this.


End file.
